A valuable CD reissue of a rare and convincing performance of Mahler's great confession of faith from 1986.

A Dutch tradition of Mahler performance extends beyond the confines of the Concertgebouw. Orchestras in Rotterdam and The Hague have often performed the songs and symphonies and have been led by conductors who have shown a typically Dutch, humanistic sympathy for the complex structure of Mahler's expressions and idioms, his appeal to the great symphonic tradition and his liberation from its constraints.

Nowhere is this sense of tradition and innovation more finely balanced in his output than in the Second Symphony, which of all his symphonies underwent the longest formative phase. The first movement began its life as an independent tone poem, depicting in vivid Lisztian language an autobiographical death ceremony in the form of a dream sequence. Gradually, something much more ambitious took shape, and the dream that the young conductor and composer had experienced when he saw his own death as if from afar was finally answered by a triumphant affirmation of faith in creativity, in his setting of the poet Klopstock's Resurrection Ode.

Hearing this poem at a funeral finally gave Mahler the inspiration he needed to complete the symphony, and it has remained one of his most popular works ever since, embodying a power of death and renewal within generations of its listeners. Yet the autobiographical, five-movement form of the symphony has its obvious antecedents in Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony and Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, and a successful performance such as this underlines those connections.

Amsterdam-born Hans Vonk (1942-2004) was chief conductor of the Residentie Orkest in The Hague from 1980 to 1991. Both the playing and the conducting of this performance are characterized by confidence and mutual assurance; the tempi are flowing but not hurried, and Mahler's structure is held together with a captivating power. This CD reissue was first released in 1986 as the orchestra's "private" LP and makes a significant contribution to the symphony's extensive discography.

- Gustav Mahler's (1860-1911) Second Symphony, often referred to as the "Resurrection Symphony", was composed between 1888 and 1894 and marks a significant step forward in Mahler's artistic development. The symphony is expansive, comprises five movements and deals with themes such as life, death and life after death.

- The Second Symphony is known for its emotional depth and grandeur. The opening movement sets a sombre tone with brooding melodies reflecting human mortality. The movements that follow explore contrasting emotions, from moments of sublime beauty to passages of intense anguish. The symphony reaches its climax in the final movement, in which Mahler introduces vocal soloists and a choir. This dramatic conclusion deals with the concept of resurrection and final redemption, culminating in a triumphant and awe-inspiring finale.

- This outstanding and moving recording from 1985 presents the Residentie Orkest Den Haag under the baton of Hans Vonk, one of the most important Dutch conductors of the 20th century. The vocal soloists are Maria Orán Cury (soprano) and Jard van Nes (alto); the featured choir is the Dutch Theatre Choir.